Huntington Boys Soccer Season Ends

started fast but ran out of steam. The Blue Devils boys soccer team, which needed to win its final four games just to reach the playoffs, put a scare into No. 2 seed Commack on Tuesday.

But the host Cougars erased a 1-0 deficit in a blink and then held off Huntington to earn a 2-1 win in the first round of the Suffolk Class AA playoffs. Commack sophomore Jake Foley and junior midfielder Matt Tamburello each scored crucial first-half goals for the difference.

"[Foley] put a goal in the back of the net and our team settled down," Commack coach Pat Friel said.

Huntington (9-8) jumped in front 1-0 with 34:58 left in the first half on a goal by freshman phenom Ricky Velasquez. But the Blue Devils couldn't muster much offense from there.

"He's a real potent player," Huntington coach John Pagano said of his talented freshman, "someone who's going to be dangerous on the soccer field for years to come."

Commack (15-1-1) hosts No. 10 Northport in a quarterfinal Friday at 2:30 p.m. The Tigers needed overtime to beat host Newfield, 3-2.

Hero: Commack's Foley picked a heck of a moment to score his first varsity goal. After watching Huntington race to a 1-0 lead from the bench, Foley entered the game and promptly scored the equalizer with 27:38 left in the first half. His high rising blast to the left corner of the net from 15 yards out came off a throw in.

"He put a goal in the back of the net and our team settled down," Friel said.

For his part, Foley said instinct took over. "I just took a crank at it," Foley said. "I knew there were people in the box, so if the goalie fumbled it someone might get it. So I took the shot."

Turning Point: Junior forward and co-captain Jack Miller fed Foley on the first goal and earned the ultimate assist on the second with his sliding cross from the extreme right corner, just outside the box.

The ball sailed across the mouth of the goal and found the eager foot of junior midfielder Matt Tamburello camping next to the left post. Tamburello redirected the ball into the net for a 2-1 Commack edge with 24 minutes left in the opening half.

"I've been in a drought," Tamburello said. "Hopefully this sparks me in the playoffs."

Quotable: "This was tough," Pagano said. "They are the No. 2 seed in Suffolk, a team which could legitimately win the county and possibly go to states – and we gave them a run."

Bottom Line: Commack played like the No. 2 seed, controlling the tempo and possessing the ball. The Cougars had one miscue on defense and Huntington made them pay. But the reality was that Commack dominated. And to get a pair of goals from players who entered the day with one goal on the season between them? That's priceless. 

Key Stat: The Cougars pelted the Huntington goal. For every one of the 16 saves Blue Devils keeper E.J. Connell recorded, Commack fired just as many wide or high of the net.

Who's Next:  Season over.

Boys Soccer: Suffolk Class AA First Round 

Teams..................1.....2 -- F

Huntington..........1.....0 -- 1

Commack............2.....0 -- 2

Goals -- H: Velasquez; C: Foley, Tamburello. Saves -- H: Connell 16; C: Amereno 6.